To quote speedrunner Shenanagans: “the hardest part of this run is actually learning Japanese”.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii (28:28)

Mario is a speedrun mainstay, though New Super Mario Bros. Wii hasn’t received the same attention the community piles on Super Mario 2 or Mario 64. In this run we see EmoArbiter take a time of 28:28 despite making a mistake that costs him around two minutes.

This is a glitch-free run that uses only legitimate warp points and pickups (notably, the propellor).

Here we can see runner ysalamiri use his force powers (jump and speed) to beat the game in under half an hour. Not only that, he makes it look easy and it’s really not – the physics in this game are famously unpredictable and difficult to manipulate.

The game is completed in just under twenty minutes by world record holder Cubeface, who previously completed the run in 17:58.

Super Monkey Ball (20:03)

If you have ever played Super Monkey Ball you’ll know just how difficult it is steering a monkey in a ball around a series of narrow walkways. It’s a relentless game of patience, which makes this particular run all the more mind-boggling.

Barhunga dominates the game on expert difficulty in just over 20 minutes, and though he makes a few mistakes the crowd virtually clap every stage he clears.

GTA: Vice City (1:04:43)

Got an hour to spare? Vice City is arguably one of Rockstar’s finest Grand Theft Auto moments, and though most of us remember it fondly for that cheesy 80s soundtrack and immersive Floridian playground, there’s not a lot of appreciation for the scenery or Kim Wylde here. Instead, AdamAK shows us how to blow the game wide-open to abuse, using the PC version.

Adam uses the PC-only instant replay feature to trigger a number of glitches which have only recently been discovered.

How To Speedrun

Think you’ve got what it takes to make your own speedruns? Excellent! The speedrunning community, while celebrating individual successes through successful runs like those above, work together to unearth glitches, clips and other exploits they can use to shave precious seconds off their times.

SpeedDemosArchive is the website to check out for all things speedrunning, and a cursory glance at the FAQ should teach you the difference between an any%, low% and 100% runs and the many rules that apply. When you’re ready you can head over to the SDA Forum and join in with an army of gamers hell-bent on breaking their favourite games.

SpeedRunsLive is where you should head if you’re interested in watching a speedrun right now, or streaming your own speedruns using Twitch. There’s a FAQ, a list of useful tools and weekly events to encourage new runners.

When you’re good enough you can head over to GamesDoneQuick.com to find out when the next event will be held, where it is and how to enter.